Rock214

I agree. I fly for an international cargo airline and based on constantly changing international requirements, I end up getting tested 4 or 5 times on a single 10 day trip. Usually in multiple countries. Worse yet, every pilot I fly with also gets tested. If any one of those pilots tests positive, every pilot he has recently flown with is removed from the flying schedule and potentially locked in quarantine for up to 14 days. Given some of the countries we fly to, that amounts to 14 days in a third world prison cell. Many (most) countries do not care about vaccine status. And this latest variant doesn’t care about vaccine status either. As United is learning, having 100% of your pilots vaccinated does not necessarily protect any of them from a COVID infection.

With any luck, this omicron variant will finally put an end to this two year period of pain. Fortunately, data from countries who have been dealing with it for weeks show that it’s very mild. A vast majority of people getting it are vaccinated. So for the price of a mild cold they’ll gain natural immunity to top off whatever protection their vaccines offer, and COVID will become more of a cold than a killer.

In the meantime, it’s a bad idea to blame ANYONE for the inconvenience we are all suffering from the impact of this pandemic. Viruses are going to virus. There is a very good chance that anyone reading this will have a close contact with someone infected with the omicron variant. If you are a United pilot you have to report it and you are removed from the flying schedule. Or, you could withhold that info and continue to fly. What would most passengers prefer?